Search results for "Organisms"

Metallothionein in the freshwater gastropod Melanopsis dufouri chronically exposed to cadmium: A methodological approach

2010

Previous studies have demonstrated that the use of differential pulse polarography (DPP) for metallothionein (MT) determination in marine gastropod tissues, particularly the digestive gland, requires taking into account the presence of heat-stable high molecular weight compounds that exhibit polarographic signal. In the present paper, similar compounds were identified in tissues from the freshwater snail Melanopsis dufouri which also interfere with MT determination by DPP and, due to their silver binding capacity, also interfere in the silver assay for MT quantification. Ultrafiltration seems to be effective in removing these high molecular weight compounds from heat-denatured homogenate su…

Herbicidal activity of Mediterranean essential oils and their effects on soil bioindicators.

2020

[ES] Las preocupaciones ambientales y de salud han estimulado el interés en estrategias alternativas para el manejo de las malas hierbas. En todo el mundo se están haciendo esfuerzos para reducir la gran dependencia de los herbicidas sintéticos que se utilizan como principal método para el control de las plantas arvenses. Los herbicidas naturales basados en sustancias alelopáticas, como los aceites esenciales (AEs) extraídos de plantas, se han sugerido como una de las posibles alternativas para lograr un manejo sostenible de las arvenses. Por un lado, los AEs han mostrado capacidad para inhibir la germinación y el crecimiento de semillas de malas hierbas, por otro lado, hay una falta de est…

Non-alcoholic fatty pancreas disease pathogenesis: a role for developmental programming and altered circadian rhythms.

2013

Objectives Emerging evidence suggests that maternal obesity (MO) predisposes offspring to obesity and the recently described non-alcoholic fatty pancreas disease (NAFPD) but involved mechanisms remain unclear. Using a pathophysiologically relevant murine model, we here investigated a role for the biological clock - molecular core circadian genes (CCG) in the generation of NAFPD. Design Female C57BL6 mice were fed an obesogenic diet (OD) or standard chow (SC) for 6 weeks, prior to pregnancy and throughout gestation and lactation: resulting offspring were subsequently weaned onto either OD (Ob_Ob and Con_Ob) or standard chow (Ob_Con and Con_Con) for 6 months. Biochemical, pro-inflammatory and…

Inbreeding does not alter the response to an experimental heat wave in a freshwater snail

2019

Global climate change affects natural populations of many species by increasing the average temperature and the frequency of extreme weather events (e.g. summer heat waves). The ability of organisms to cope with these environmental changes can, however, depend on their genetic properties. For instance, genetic load owing to inbreeding could alter organisms’ responses to climate change-mediated environmental changes but such effects are often overlooked. We investigated the effects of an experimental heat wave (25°C versus 15°C) on life history (reproduction, size) and constitutive immune defence traits (phenoloxidase-like and antibacterial activity of haemolymph) in relation to inbreeding b…

The microbiota of the bilio-pancreatic system: A cohort, STROBE-compliant study

2019

Paola Di Carlo,1 Nicola Serra,2 Francesco D’Arpa,3 Antonino Agrusa,3 Gaspare Gulotta,3 Teresa Fasciana,1 Vito Rodolico,1 Anna Giammanco,1 Consolato Sergi4,51Department of Sciences for Health Promotion, Mother & Child Care, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 2Statistic Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Naples ‘Federico II’, Naples, Italy; 3Department of General Surgery and Emergency, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 4Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada; 5Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Stollery Children’s Hospital, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, CanadaBackgroun…

Shedding light on the elusive role of endothelial cells in cytomegalovirus dissemination.

2011

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is frequently transmitted by solid organ transplantation and is associated with graft failure. By forming the boundary between circulation and organ parenchyma, endothelial cells (EC) are suited for bidirectional virus spread from and to the transplant. We applied Cre/loxP-mediated green-fluorescence-tagging of EC-derived murine CMV (MCMV) to quantify the role of infected EC in transplantation-associated CMV dissemination in the mouse model. Both EC- and non-EC-derived virus originating from infected Tie2-cre + heart and kidney transplants were readily transmitted to MCMV-naïve recipients by primary viremia. In contrast, when a Tie2-cre + transplant was infected by pri…

The viral chemokine MCK-2 of murine cytomegalovirus promotes infection as part of a gH/gL/MCK-2 complex.

2013

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) forms two gH/gL glycoprotein complexes, gH/gL/gO and gH/gL/pUL(128,130,131A), which determine the tropism, the entry pathways and the mode of spread of the virus. For murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV), which serves as a model for HCMV, a gH/gL/gO complex functionally homologous to the HCMV gH/gL/gO complex has been described. Knock-out of MCMV gO does impair, but not abolish, virus spread indicating that also MCMV might form an alternative gH/gL complex. Here, we show that the MCMV CC chemokine MCK-2 forms a complex with the glycoprotein gH, a complex which is incorporated into the virion. We could additionally show that mutants lacking both, gO and MCK-2 are not ab…

ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a University hospital: Molecular features, diffusion of epidemic clones and evaluation of cross-transmission.

2021

The worldwide spread of Klebsiella pneumoniae producing extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL-Kp) is a significant threat. Specifically, various pandemic clones of ESBL-Kp are involved in hospital outbreaks and caused serious infections. In that context, we assessed the phenotypic and molecular features of a collection of ESBL-Kp isolates in a French university hospital and evaluated the occurrence of potential cross-transmissions. Over a 2-year period (2017–2018), 204 non-duplicate isolates of ESBL-Kp were isolated from clinical (n = 118, 57.8%) or screening (n = 86, 42.2%) sample cultures. These isolates were predominantly resistant to cotrimoxazole (88.8%) and ofloxacin (82.8%) but remaine…

Correction: Recovery from Toxic-Induced Demyelination Does Not Require the NG2 Proteoglycan.

2018

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163841.].

2015

Marine indole alkaloids comprise a large and steadily growing group of secondary metabolites. Their diverse biological activities make many compounds of this class attractive starting points for pharmaceutical development. Several marine-derived indoles were found to possess cytotoxic, antineoplastic, antibacterial and antimicrobial activities, in addition to the action on human enzymes and receptors. The newly isolated indole alkaloids of marine origin since the last comprehensive review in 2003 are reported, and biological aspects will be discussed.